San Francisco – Oakland Bay Bridge

STATUS:No bicycle or pedestrian access on the West Span. Access on the East Span is expected upon completion of the replacement bridge (after 2011 at the earliest).

UPDATE: Senate Bill 1061, which would allow bridge toll funds to pay for the bicycle/pedestrian pathway, was passed by the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee on March 23, 2010. For more updates visit the bill status page.

While the new East Span structure of the Bay Bridge has been designed to have a 15.5-foot-wide bicycle, pedestrian, and maintenance pathway that will run along the eastbound deck, no funding has been set aside for West Span bicycle/pedestrian access. The San Francisco Bicycle Coalition, the East Bay Bicycle Coalition, and the Bay Area Bicycle Coalition together have been working to gain support for funding of a pathway on the West span that will enable non-motorized traffic to conveniently cross the Bay between San Francisco and Oakland.

As a result of these efforts, in February 2010, State Senator Loni Hancock (D - Oakland) introduced Senate Bill 1061 which will be voted on after March of this year. If approved it will give the Metropolitan Transportation Commission the authority to use bridge tolls to fund a Bay Bridge West Span bike and pedestrian pathway.

This SF Chronicle article Treasure Island plan a trove full of promise describes the plan for a walkable, bikeable, 7,000 residential unit development on Treasure Island. It is planned to become the most sustainable community in the United States with 30 percent of the units affordable housing. These residents need access to non-polluting affordable transporation options to San Francisco, which a bicycle/pedestrian path would provide. Without that access, congestion on the Bay Bridge will become unbearable.

This video illustrates the need for bicycle/pedestrian access across the bay.